President Ricardo Juan Carlos woke up at the sound of his alarm clock. It read six a.m. in the morning. There was little sunlight showing behind the bedroom curtains. The sun had not risen yet. It was still early spring time in April 2098.
Ricardo slowly sat up in bed and rested his feet on the floor. He looked at his wife Kendra. She was still sound asleep. He didn’t want to wake her, so he quietly left the bed and headed for the bathroom to shave, shower and get ready for another work day in Utopias.
Ricardo was fifty-nine years old. He could feel old age creeping up in his bones. He looked into the mirror and saw brown hair turning gray at the edges, crow’s feet lines around his brown eyes, worry lines on his forehead, sagging skin below his square jaw and age spots beginning to appear on his hands. At least he was still in good shape and healthy from eating the right foods and exercising regularly per doctor orders. He needed to be fit to run the Office of Presidency in these trying times. And things were going to get even more challenging in the near future.
While Ricardo was in the bathroom, Kendra woke up, left the bed and put on a bathrobe. She knew Ricardo liked to get up to leave early in the morning in order to get some uninterrupted work done before everyone else arrived. He seldom took time to eat breakfast; just made coffee and left their home to walk the short distance to the Capitol Building. This time, Kendra decided to surprise him and make him eat a healthy breakfast. Something more worrisome than usual had been on Ricardo’s mind lately. She could see it in his eyes, face and mannerism. So far, he would not talk about it. Maybe today he would open up and tell her what was bothering him.
Ricardo put on a dark suit, light blue shirt open at the collar, navy pants, black shoes and socks. He could smell the bacon cooking in the kitchen. It made him more hungry than usual. He knew Kendra was up, but not why so early. He slipped on his shoes, fastened his wristcom and walked to the kitchen. Kendra turned around when she heard him and smiled.
“Good morning, Ricardo. I thought I would make you eat some breakfast before you left for work today.”
Kendra was the same age as Ricardo. She still had that beautiful look women took pains to preserve as they aged. She had a pretty oval face with firm chin and wide mouth. Her hair was dyed a dark auburn color to match her original color, eyes were green and sparkled when she laughed, her figure was still trim and well proportioned. Kendra did not look fifty-nine years old. She looked and acted as a much younger woman. She was also very smart and Ricardo never underestimated her intelligence and political judgment. They had been married for twenty years now, two years after Ricardo lost his first wife to the plague in Mexico. It was love at first sight for both of them and they made a good team as Ricardo rose up in position as Senator from Mexico megacity to UAC President in Utopias elected in the year 2096. They had no children.
“This is a pleasant surprise. It smells good!” Ricardo said eyeing at the food on the table. He poured some juice from the refrigerator for each of them, got a cup of coffee, added cream and sat down at the table with Kendra. He could tell something was on her mind.
They ate in silence watching the news on the TV screen. The stories were all the same. The Climate Crisis had changed the world in unimaginable ways over the last fifty years. The environment was almost completely destroyed. The air had become unbreathable in certain parts of the world, especially at higher elevations. The polar ice caps started melting years ago. Sea levels had risen over twenty feet, drowning coastal cities worldwide. Raging storms and hotter temperatures had ravaged entire continents. All large sea animals and fish had died out. The jet stream had become unstable causing wild temperature swings. Pestilence and diseases wiped out entire populations. Historic plagues once thought extinct had returned causing countries to wage wars on each other to survive. These Plague Wars continued from 1984 to the present and were still being fought in countries overseas. The result of all of these catastrophes reduced the world population from eight billion to around one billion people worldwide. No one was certain of the count anymore. Only five hundred million or so people were left in the United Americas Continent.
“I know you have something to say to me. What is it?”
Kendra took a sip of coffee and looked him in the eyes. “You’ve been sulking around here for three days, working late and won’t tell me what’s bothering you. What’s going on, Ricardo? I have a right to know.”
“I know you do, Kendra. I didn’t want to worry you anymore than necessary. The situation in the world is getting worse. We don’t have much time left. World leaders are desperate and can’t wait any longer. If we don’t act now to save our peoples, humanity will not survive this crisis.”
“You’ve done all you can, Ricardo. I know we are out of options. Postponing the inevitable will not help us in the long run. I agree with world leaders. We must act soon or lose everything.”
Ricardo nodded his head. He finished his cup of coffee and looked at Kendra. There was no point in hiding the truth any longer. “We must start putting our people in the cryonic sleep chambers. Our scientists say the air will be unbreathable to humans within two to five years. The carbon dioxide and methane gas levels have reached an all-time high. If it can’t be reversed in the next ten years, all human and animal life on the planet will die out. It’s an Extinction-Level-Event— greater than the time the asteroid killed off the dinosaurs sixty-five million years ago. I must give the order to proceed this week in Congress.”
Kendra had expected this, but not so soon. She knew the environmental situation as well as Ricardo. The world was in crisis and world leaders had spent decades trying to find the right solution. They all had run out of time. “When do you plan to announce your decision to the people?”
“Soon. Perhaps next week after my meeting with the Cabinet Members. It will not be easy. I expect some of our people to resist. There may be violence in the megacities; for sure in the Wilderness Areas from militia groups and conservative rightwing fanatics. Even some of our government leaders are opposed to this solution. Our Armed Forces are on High Alert.”
“What about Eurasia Federation? Are they going to do this at the same time?” Kendra asked.
“They must. It’s part of our World Federation Accords agreement with them. We all have to enter cryostasis at the same time to prevent another world war. There is just one large problem left to agree on.”
“What is that?” Kendra asked. She had no idea what it was.
“The AI’s. Eurasia Federation has to agree to let the two Artificial Intelligence entities take control of the cryonic chambers after we all go to sleep. The current Premier Tung Wing is resisting the idea. We really don’t have any other choice.”
That was a big problem, Kendra agreed by shaking her head. She had no answer for it.
Ricardo stood up. He was ready to head to the Capitol Building. “Thanks for breakfast. I’ll call you after my cabinet meeting.” He kissed Kendra on the cheek and walked out the door. It was going to be another trying day at the office.
Continue the story. Order UTOPIAS – Book Zero, The Climate Crisis, at Smashwords.